“Building a Bully” blueprint lost in closing minutes

I wrote — at length — about the decision to have linebacker Rolando McClain covering Calvin Johnson 40 yards downfield in today’s paper. That’s on defensive coordinator Chuck Bresnahan, and while Hue Jackson is standing by him now, I doubt that will be the case when the season ends.

Almost as troubling for Raiders fans (based on e-mails and Twitter reaction) is Jackson’s decision to throw the ball on 3rd and 3 from the Lions 48 with 2:32 left and Detroit out of timeouts. The call did catch Detroit off guard, as Chaz Schilens was open — but he couldn’t haul in a slightly-overthrown ball and the clock stopped at 2:27.

Oakland has to run the ball there. Not only would it keep the clock running, but Michael Bush was starting to assert himself. After a slow start, he had 37 yards on 5 carries that series. Quarterback Carson Palmer even said the gameplan was to grind and wear the Lions down … well, the gameplan was working.

Early on this season, Jackson talked at length about “Building a Bully,” and becoming a physical team that runs even if the defense knows it’s coming. That play right there was a perfect time to go back to that, but either Jackson has lost confidence in Bush and his offensive line or become too enamored of Palmer, his new quarterback, to stick to what he was preaching to the team all season.